Railway-car



(No Model.) 3 Shets-Sheet. 1. E. M. BENTLEY. RAILWAY GAR.

No. 437,343: Patentedflept. 30. 1890.

Fn:5 l

U W U Q I k I INZ/E/NTOR: PM I AT;YS.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

E. M. BENTLEY. RAILWAY GAR.

No. 437,343. Patented Sept. 30. 1890. I

Fl E 4 W WITNESSES: v

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

E. M. BENTLEY.

RAILWAY GAR.

No. 437,343. Patented Sept. 30, 1890.

THE mama PKTERS 0a,, mmo-umm, msumzmm, v. c.

closed to form a vestibule.

7 V UNITED STATES 1 PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD M. BENTLEY, .OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

RAILWAY-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 437,343, dated September 30, 1890. l

- Application filed .Tune 19, 1890. Serial No. 356,018. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD M. BENTLEY, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, county of Suffolk, State of-Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Oars, of which the following is a specification.

In my application Serial No. 344,07 9 I have shown and described a railway-car provided with a laterally-movable end section, which took the form of a simple coupling-bar, or was enlarged into a platform which could be in In my present invention I have shown an improvement upon my previous device, which consists of providing a railway-car with alaterally-m'ovable end section, as in the former case, but which is placed outside of the ordinary platform. This laterally-movable end section may be provided with a coupling attached directly to it, and have both a longitudinal and a lateral spring-connection with the vehicle, or it may have onlya ,lateral movement relative to the vehicle, and the coupling-bar be attached independently to the car. In the latter case the said section will be provided with a yielding surface adapted to-meet a similar surface on an adjacent car.- The said section may also, if desirable, be sup: ported on the end of the car without the pivoted extensions reaching under the car, which 7 are shown in my previous application.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a railway-car .provided with myinvention. Fig. 2 is a plan of the lower frame-work of the car. Fig. 3 is an end view of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an end view of Fig. 1. Figs. 5 and 6 represent modifications, and Figs. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 are details.

Referring to the drawings, Arepresents the ordinary frame-work of the lower part of the car formed upon the sills and stringers.

B is the body-bolster of thecar, carrying the king-bolt.

Gis theend sill of the platform, which in this construction is carried by the two supplemental stringers D, these stringers being made heavier than those ordinarily employed. E is a beam placed on substantially the same level'as C, and having a concave edge corresponding to the convex edge of O. The

beam E is attached tothe stringers F, which are upheld by the bracket G, Fig. 4, being freely movable thereon by means of the friction rollers II. The inner ends of stringers F are joined together and are prolonged by a rod I, which at one end passes through the crosspiece J, between the stringers F, and is held by the oppositely-acting springs L. At the other end the rod'hasan eye embracing the king-bolt. By this arrangement the beam or bar E has a longitudinal spring movement by means of springs L, and at the same. time is free to spring laterally about the king-bolt. It is normally held in its central position by means of the springs K, and is held throughout its length against vertical movement relatively to O by means of brackets M, attached to C and embracing E upon opposite sides, Fig. 12. By this means any torsional strain that comes upon the bar Ej when connectedto an adjacent barfis immediately transmitted to the sill C, and by means of upright posts 0, (shown in Fig. 2,) which I shall describe at length hereinafter, is transmitted'to the frame-work of the car through the roof. Of course the torsional strain upon 0 will be partly taken up by the'stringers D but a better construction will be afiorded' by having the stringers D supplemented by the posts 0. I prefer to provide upon each end of the movable section E means for connecting it firmly throughout its length with a similar device on an adjacent car, so that any rocking tendency of one car will be transmitted to the next, and a steadier movement of the two together will be attained. Such devices are shown in Figs. 3 and 4, where P represents a lug or projection upon one end of the bar E, while upon the other end there is a come sponding recess Q, upon the top and bottom of which are held under spring-pressure two plates R. Whenever the two bars Eare in contact, the extension P upon one enters the recess Q upon the other, and the two bars will therefore tend to move together as a whole, except so far as a limited movement is permitted by the springs S, which act upon plates R.

In the form of my invention which I have thus far described the'coupler T is of any ordinary construction, and its attached drawof the car.

inclosed by the posts 0, and sides WV, which extend from the sill C to the car-roof, and

bar is connected to the stringers F by passing through the cross-piece J and has a slight spri il g movement by means of rubber buffers As my present invention is especially.

adapted for use upon passenger-cars upon which the end section may be placed outside of the ordinary platform, the bar E may serve simply as an intermediate platform to occupy the space between the platforms of the two adjacent cars, or it may be provided with inclosing sides to form a covered connection between the two cars, which I herein term a vestibule.

In Figs. 1 and 21 provide two upright sides U, which are connected at the top to form the vestibule, and which are provided with hinged plates V, resting against the stationary part In this case the platform will be doors X will be provided at the top of the steps, which will open upward and have on the inside a hand-rail Y. The steps are not shown in the drawings, but their place is indicated. WVhen the door X is opened, the hand-rail Y will serve to assist passengers entering by the steps.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a form which in some respects is preferable to the one illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. In this case the bar E has no longitudinal movement relative to the car. It is carried rigidly upon the stringers F, which are connected together at their inner ends and pivoted upon the kingbolt without any intermediate springs. The draw-bar in this case swings with the bar E, and has a longitudinal spring movement, Which in the former device was afforded by the springs L. By this arrangement the section E is more closely connected tothe sill 0, having only a lateral movement relatively thereto about theking-bolt asa center. It becomes necessary in this case to provide means for compensating for the longitudinal spring movementbetween thetwoadjacentcars. For this purpose I provide an end plate Z, similar to the end plate of the ordinary vestibule-car, which is connected to the main part of the Vestible by a bellows, which permits the end plate to move in and out while preserving the inclosure intact. My device, however, differs from the one ordinarily employed, in that the plate Z is provided with four dowel-pins rigidly attached thereto, which slide in and out of corresponding sockets in the walls of the vestibule. This is shown in detail in Fig. 8. In my device, therefore, the end plate Z will have simply a forward-and-backward movement, while in the ordinary construction it is pivoted to guide-rods, so that the two sides of the plate move unequally.

In my device it is only essential to have a simple longitudinal movement of the plate Z, because all lateral movement is provided for when the whole section is moved bodily from one side to the other.

In Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and-11 I have shown a very simple and practical form of my invention. The bar E and the sides of the vestibule U are replaced by a simple frame E, of the form shown in Fig. 9. This is formed of thin plates, and the whole is curved to correspond to the outline of O, as will be seen by reference to Fig. 7. This frame is supported upon the outside of the inclosed platform by friction-rollers, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, so that it will move freely from side to side. The frame E is provided at thebottom with a fork which embraces the neck of the draw-bar. The draw-bar being free to swing laterally in a well-known manner will always tend to carry the frame E with it. Upon the outside of E is placed the plate Z, with the intermediate bellows-connection, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Between E and Z will be placed a telescoping foot-piece B Figs. 7 and 8.

In connection with the device described, I intend to employ an automatic coupling for a pipe or electric conductor used to convey air, steam, or electricity. The method of applying this is similar to that set forth in the prior application above referred to.

In Fig. 11 O is an air-pipe having a pivoted end section D This has a telescoping joint and a spring-actuated tip adapted to fit in a corresponding socket on the pipe of an adjacent car. I also provide a supplementary flexible end section E, which can be used to make connection with the ordinary manual coupler now employed. I prefer, however, in some cases to bring the terminal of the.

automatic coupler onto the plate Z instead of attaching it simply to the movable end section E.. This is shown in Fig. 6. When this arrangement is employed, the air-pipe will be.

automatically coupled upon the meeting of two cars, and the couplers themselves may always be accessible for inspection. It will also do away with the flexible tube covered with rubber or other perishable material now employed.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with a railway-car,of an inclosed entrance-platform stationary with respect to the car, and an end section external to the platform having a lateral movement relatively to the car for adjustment on curves, and provided with alongitudinallyyielding end surface for meeting a similar device on an adjacent car.

2. The combination, with a railway-car having an inclosed end platform and steps leading therefrom, of a laterally-movable frame outside the platform and provided with yield ing extensions maintaining the end of the 3. The combination, with a railway-car, of an end section outside the platform placed on bearings at top and bottom so as to move freely from side to side, and provided with a yielding end plate having a flexible connection with the main frame of the section, the said section being also provided with flexible connections to the car, maintaining the end of theplatform closed during lateral movement.

4. The combination, with a railway-car, of an end section outside the platform of the car provided with a yielding surface for meeting a similar device on an adjacent car, and having bearings by which it is movable laterally relatively to the car, and a draw-bar having a lon gitudinally-yieldin g connection with the car independent of the connection between the car and the end section.

5. The combination, with a railway-car, of a laterally-swinging draw-bar and an end section placed on bearings outside the platform of the car and so connected to the said drawbar as to move laterally therewith.

6. The combination, with a railway-car, of an inclosed end section supported on the carbody by bearings permitting movement about acenter and havinga longitudinally-yielding surface adapted to meet a similar device on an adjacent car, the said section being on a line with the car-floor, and the car having a draw-bar extending beneath the said section and swinging laterally correspondingly therewith.

'7. The combination, with a railway-car, of an inclosed end section supported on the carbody by bearings permitting movement about a center and havingalongitudinally-yielding surface adapted to meet a similar device on an adjacent car, a central coupler beneath the said section, andside-engaging device for connecting the section to a section of an adjacent car.

8. The combination, with a railway-car, of alaterally-movable end section outside the car-platform and connected thereto along its length, means for coupling the said section to a similar device on an adjacent car, and posts. extending from the edge of the carplatform to the roof-timbers, whereby the torsional strain on the platform is transmitted to the car-frame.

9. The combination, with a railway-car, of a conductor thereon having a movable end section connected with a similarly-movable 5 part of the car-platform.

10. The combination, with a railway-car, of

a conductor having a laterally-movable end section connected to a similarly-moving part of the car and provided with a supplementary flexible end section.

11. The combination, in a railway-car, of a conductor having a laterally movable' end section connected to a similarly-moving part of the car and provided with an automatic coupling, and a supplementary flexible end section provided with a manual coupling.

12. The combination, with a railway-car, of

an inclosed end section having a yielding end plate and a conductor on the car having its terminals connected to the said end plate.

13. The combination,with a railway-car, of an inclosed end section having ayielding end plate and a conductor on the car havings its terminals provided with an automatic coup ling attached to the end plate of the vestibule.

14. The combination, with arailway-car, of a laterally-movable end section or platform supported on the end of the car by bearings permitting a lateral movement andan independently-supported draw-bar swinging laterally and adapted to engage with the said section and move therewith.

15. The combination,with a railway-car, of a vestibule-framing supported outside the car-. platform by bearings permitting a lateral movem ent, and an end plate having a yield ing connection with said framing and adapted to meet a similar plate on an adjacent car.

16. The combination, with a railway-car, of a laterally-moving end section on the car-. body, a similarly-moving draw-bar beneath it, and a conductor on the car having a laterally-moving end section connected to the end section of the car and having thereon acoupling adapted to meet a similar coupling on an adjacent car.

17. The combination, witha railway-car, of

an inclosed end platform, an upright framing EDXVARD M. BENTLEY.

Witnesses:

S. G. CROSWELL, G. R. BLODGETT. 

